News & Opinions
Tariff at the end of the tunnel - 28 Jul 2025
Trump's tariffs hit EU exports with 15% duties. Trade drops, prices fall, and output shrinks slightly. EU likely sees balanced welfare effects, but tensions and uncertainty remain read more
FDI for innovative and green growth: Europe needs a smarter strategy - 17 Jul 2025
How can FDI support green growth in the EU? Multinationals tend to invest where they can develop technologies for their subsidiaries. Their know-how spills over to domestic firms. Host countries should therefore provide strong opportunities for green technology development and focus on building upon local strengths read more
Neuer Podcast - Hat Trump die Nase voll von Putin? Und braucht Russlands Wirtschaft nicht endlich einen Frieden? - 17 Jul 2025
Vasily Astrov bespricht und analysiert mit „Presse“-Journalist Eduard Steiner mittwochs im Zweiwochen-Rhythmus russisches Gas, Sanktionen, Oligarchen – und vieles mehr read more
Summer Forecast: Iran conflict to have little impact on growth in Eastern Europe - 01 Jul 2025
Region to grow much faster than the euro area; Iran, Trump’s tariffs, war in Ukraine as downside risks; Russia’s growth will halve to around 2%; Ukraine’s outlook deteriorating read more
US-Ukraine Mineral Resources Agreement: Diplomatic coup in adverse circumstances? - 01 Jul 2025
The US-Ukraine minerals deal is a success for Zelensky under the current circumstances. It could serve as a blueprint for future resource-for-reconstruction deals, with other countries formalising their support for Ukraine through similar frameworks read more
Resiliente Konjunktur in Osteuropa stützt Österreichs Wirtschaft in unsicheren Zeiten - 01 Jul 2025
Trotz einiger Wachstumsrevisionen nach unten kann Österreich nach wie vor optimistisch auf die Wirtschaftsentwicklung in Osteuropa blicken read more
Foreign direct investment in Eastern Europe shrinks by a quarter - 24 Jun 2025
Direct investment inflows are at a five-year low; German investors are losing interest, while Austrian ones are being very cautious; most new investment announced again comes from China; FDI is contributing less and less to the region’s growth read more
Bulgaria: Lowest cigarette prices and highest smoking rates in the EU - 17 Jun 2025
Increasing tobacco excise duties could generate EUR 0.7bn to 1bn in additional tax revenue over three years and prevent more than 37,000 premature deaths read more
What’s driving Chinese FDI in the Western Balkans – and what should be done about it? - 12 Jun 2025
Chinese FDI in the Western Balkans has increased substantially, but won’t catch up with EU FDI any time soon. Governments must ensure that China's investments comply with environmental and labour standards. Attracting high-quality FDI should be the goal read more
wiiw-led Tobacco Taxation Network introduces new focus areas at biannual workshop - 14 May 2025
Since its launch in 2024, the network has produced a dozen publications across seven countries in Central and Eastern Europe in addition to helping inform two legislative changes last year. Now it is focusing on alternative tobacco products and the impact of smoking on household budgets read more